Monday, 21 March 2011

Plan for ‘one-stop’ centres for women

THE Ministry of Women’s Affairs yesterday announced a plan to create “one-stop service” centres nationwide that would merge existing services for victims of rape and domestic violence.

The plan follows an earlier announcement by the Women’s Affairs Ministry in December to establish a similar service centre in Phnom Penh, which would also collate nationwide data on abuses against women and children.

Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi said yesterday that she was working closely with the United Nations Development Programme in Cambodia, UN partner organisations and NGOs in discussing the establishment of the centres.

“In the past, we saw problems happening with victims feeling upset or hopeless in seeking intervention, as most offenders were released because victims could not find evidence and services to help victims were too far away,” said Ing Kantha Phavi.

Ing Kantha Phavi said that the plan could materialise within one to two months and the centres would merge with existing legal, health and local authority services that assist victims of rape and domestic violence.

“We are studying from neighbouring countries around us like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, including some countries which have executed the plan,” she said.

Ros Sopheap, executive director of Gender and Development for Cambodia, said that she supported the Women’s Affairs Ministry’s plan to establish the centres.